Posted on April 8, 2018April 2, 2018 by Vic Flores

Recent Golf Course Review Costa Mesa Country Club LOS LAGOS Costa Mesa California

Costa Mesa CC (Los Lagos)

Costa Mesa, CA

ALERT: Aeration
Will be aerating the greens 4/23.
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Reviewed by: roarksown1, Playa del Rey

Finally played one of the two Costa Mesa GC 18s this past weekend and it was quite a fun day out with an old friend and two of his buddies. Paid $61 with a cart to play from the blue tees on the Los Lagos 18. Apparently it’s a little bit longer than the other one, but they’re both equally challenging.

And I did find the course challenging. There are a lot of water features that come into play, some mounding and funky angles in the fairways, long par 3s to test your accuracy, and a few well-placed bunkers that make you plan ahead before every shot. I enjoyed the layout more than I thought I would having studied it a bit the night before.

Conditions were pretty darn good across the board. I found the greens to be in very nice shape and they were very fun to putt from all day. They were definitely fast and firm though so holding shots wasn’t always super easy. But no complaints on the roll.

Fairways are in nice overall shape, with the exception of just a few holes on the back nine. But even where it was a bit thinner, it was mostly playable except for a few of the exposed patches that crept in here and there. The rough was a healthy mix of short and playable to some areas where it was tough to find your ball.

Sand traps were unfortunately either just watered or still soaked a bit from last week’s rain, but they were not optimal for the day. They may play just fine now, but on that particular day, they were best avoided altogether. And the tee boxes were all mostly good but I’ve never seen tee box markers so far apart. Easy to find a flat lie when you’ve got 20-30 feet of room to work with. That was interesting.

It was a busy Saturday so we certainly did some waiting around on many holes, especially the par 3s. I think we came in a just around five hours even. Cart service showed up once or twice as well. Overall, a very nice day out and I look forward to playing the other 18 there to complete the circle. But if asked to play Los Lagos again, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

Posted on April 7, 2018April 2, 2018 by Vic Flores

Recent Golf Course Review Rustic Canyon Golf Course Moorpark California

Rustic Canyon Golf Course

Moorpark, CA

Reviewed by: GDR23, Thousand Oaks

Out this afternoon 4/2/2018 walking the Blues with buddies Mack and Brian joined by a nice single John. POP 4 hrs. Weather was epic scoring weather–other than a strong breeze the first 3 holes the remaining 15 holes were postcard–mid 60’s with hardly any wind. Paid $22.00 walking–super deal. Nice staff in clubhouse let us go 10 minutes early at 2:20pm.

The fairways are making a comeback. The last couple times I have played here they were very dry. Today I saw a lot more green than in previous rounds. Sure they contain some different tuffs of grass and the fairways are not super lush but they are getting into their green spring state. This course historically has great fairways from April usually through August. Current rating is a 6/10.

The greens were in good shape–maybe a 10.5 on the stimp. Downhillers still need to be touched with precision. Not a ton of ball marks and rolling medium to quick speed. They hold high irons and chips with spin nicely. Rated 7.5/10.

I thought the tees were the highlight of the course. Super lush and mostly level. In very good shape–rated 8/10.

Greenside rough super green and lush and in great shape. Rated 8/10.

The poorest part of the course remains the rough just outside many of the fairways. Its very dry and hardpan in most areas. Rated 4.5/10.

With the fairways starting to grow in nicely and the current shape of the tees and greens I would recommend this course to anyone.

Great challenging layout that is a blast to play.

Posted on April 6, 2018April 2, 2018 by Vic Flores

Recent Golf Course Review Tijeras Creek Golf Club Rancho Santa Margarita California

Tijeras Creek Golf Club

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Reviewed by: leef2020, Huntington Beach, CA

Played Saturday, 3/31, teeing off 12 mins past our 2:48 tee time on a busy day. We made it to the middle of the 18th fairway in near-darkness when the marshal told us to pick up and head in. We got in several more holes than I expected, so a good afternoon in spite of the delay and overall slowish play.

Pretty similar condition overall from last week, as expected. However, the greens were cut nicely on the day and the cups were not so mangled. Pace of greens were still medium/medium-slow and provided for some bumps. Much better than last week, but need a good rolling.

Fairways still good and the rough was lush, dense and penal.

Was in two bunkers on the day, and they were somewhat improved, providing a thin layer of topsand. Did see several wet/crappy looking bunkers, though, including the front greenside bunker on #11, and front-left bunker on #15, which was as bad/worse than when I was in it last week.

Heard the staff telling a brand new 2018 Creek Card purchaser that TC has now taken away the ‘free birthday round’ from the former list of benefits. Confirms my previous decision to not renew, I guess. A good day overall at the Creek. Look forward to a return visit in six weeks or so.

Posted on April 5, 2018April 2, 2018 by Vic Flores

Recent Golf Course Review Angel Park Golf Club PALM Las Vegas Nevada

Angel Park Golf Club (Palm)

Las Vegas, NV

Reviewed by: evildrummerhb, La Habra, CA

Played this past Friday on a beautiful sunny day with hardly a breeze. This was my first time here, and I left satisfied, if a little disappointed.

The tee boxes were great, the fairways too, and the rough was barely over fairway height. The bunkers were very firm, which was great if you were in a fairway bunker; green-side, not so much. The greens here were my disappointment mainly lies. They were super firm, with balls not leaving a mark, which I can deal with. They were very fast, which I love. However, there were many, many random bumps and unseen irregularities which made it nearly impossible to choose a line and execute a good putt.

The course is beautiful, and the hundreds of funny little chipmunks running around made for some amusement, but the greens soured what could have been an epic day. I’m hoping they are able to smooth those greens out, I’d enjoy another crack at this one.

Posted on April 4, 2018April 2, 2018 by Vic Flores

Recent Golf Course Review Carmel Mountain Ranch Country Club San Diego California

Carmel Mountain Ranch CC

San Diego, CA

Reviewed by: Itslikeimsayin, Aliso Viejo

Joined sixpez here today to use an UnderPar voucher he bought a while ago. It was good for 10:30 or later and included a free replay. We booked a 10:30 tee time and started pretty much on time, although with a warning from the starter that the course was playing slow. He wasn’t kidding. Our first round took 5 hours 17 minutes and felt like we’d played 36 already. Fortunately, after that round we checked with the pro shop and they were able to send us right back out. In round 2 we played through a few groups and finished in around 3 hours, with only a little sunlight remaining. Mostly cloudy skies, a little wind, warm temps until the sun started to go down, at which point it got sorta chilly.

Course conditions are mixed. The greens are very good: Smooth, fast and accept full shots well. I debated between rating them a 7 or 8 but settled on 7. Fairways have good coverage but are a little thin, providing tight lies. What rough there is is quite good, a little fluffier than the fairways and sometimes easier to hit from. Not very penal at all. Then there’s also the absence of rough since the turf reduction a few years ago, which isn’t very attractive and oftentimes leads to balls rolling forever on hardpan or dirt. Tee boxes (we played blue both rounds) were the low point of conditions, with most/many pretty beat up and a few good ones. Bunkers were the high point of conditions, with very well maintained sand in sufficient quantity. Nice to see!

This is a fun layout with a number of great holes, but overall the course currently feels a bit neglected. It’s decent enough, but at one point many years ago it was really nice. I’d love to see it return to those standards. Still recommended.

Posted on April 3, 2018April 2, 2018 by Vic Flores

Recent Golf Course Review Eagle Glen Golf Club Corona California

Eagle Glen Golf Club

Corona, CA

Reviewed by: caligolfer1031, Paramount

Played on 4/1 Easter morning at 7:30 as a single. Course was pretty much empty except for a threesome I passed on hole 5. POP was a very relaxed 3:15. I haven’t played here in a couple of years and was looking forward to the round. There must have been an outing the afternoon before as there were some Styrofoam ice chests in the parking lot along with empty 12 pack boxes and numerous plastic cups. Staff was very friendly and got me out right away.

The Review

Tee Boxes – most were badly needing a good mowing. A few holes when teeing up for a 3 wood, the ball was still sitting sitting down in the grass. Tee boxes are level.

Fairways – Looks like they have punched the fairways and in the slots where the punching is done the grass is longer than a normal fairway, but still very playable. the non punched areas the ball sits nicely.

Greens – In perfect shape, was a blast putting on them. a little fast and holding well struck shots. A few divot marks here and there, but I have a feeling it’s from the same guys that left the trash in the parking lot. Too bad they are punching them this week, because of how great of shape they are in. There was puddling on several greens on the front nine, but the flags were not placed even close to those spots.

Rough – non-existent, just a slight bit longer than the fairway.

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Eagle Glen Golf Club Corona California. Hole 9

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Eagle Glen Golf Club Corona California. Hole 4 View From Tee Box

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Bunkers – the two that I was in had excellent sand. I did notice on trap, back left on nine looked like dirt and I’m not sure if it gets much play anyways. The front right bunker on 16 had a tremendous amount of sand in it. I noticed that one of the racks only the handle could be seen, so I placed my putting into the trap and with no pressure it sunk down about three inches. The trap was not very well racked, but I have a feeling its just too difficult to rake a trap that is that soft. They could have just added the sand and are still working on getting it set.

Overall I had a great time and enjoyed the course. Look forward to going back after the greens heal.

Posted on April 2, 2018March 26, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Oak Valley Golf Club Beaumont California

Oak Valley Golf Club

Beaumont, CA

Reviewed by: weeman68, pasadena

Winter conditions throughout. The only thing thriving is the rough after the rain (and that’s not necessarily a good thing!)

The Review

Fairways are dormant and gray with many sprouts of poa 4/10.

Tee boxes generally fine but a few were shaggy and 3 or 4 were noticeably crowned 7/10

Rough was very healthy, US Open stuff with the ball frequently sitting down so you couldn’t see it till you were over the top of it. 9/10.

Sand was firm to compacted at times (after the rain) and needs some grooming 7/10.

Greens were slow and very bumpy (one had fungus at the back) and did not track well at all 4/10.

Our Reviewer’s Take

They were disappointing for such a course and for what otherwise would be memorable, contoured surfaces to putt on.

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Posted on April 1, 2018March 26, 2018 by Vic Flores

Golf Course Review Morongo Golf Club Tuckwet Canyon (LEGENDS) Beaumont California

Morongo Golf Club Tukwet Canyon (Legends)

Beaumont, CA

Reviewed by: weeman68, pasadena

Skipped across the road to Morongo after Oak Valley (they have remodelled the bar/restaurant – nice! But the pro shop took a hit when they did so and is now kinda pokey – not nice!)

Zipped around in about 2.5 hours as a single. Finally – a more or less green golf course!

There were a few patches here and there of dormancy and a few bare areas too, but overall conditions tee to green were good. Sand traps were still flooded in places and generally firm/crusty with decent sized rocks in them. Just like at Oak, the rough was penal, US Open stuff (but not as severe as at Oak).

Greens were better here, but they contain about 50% poa and that affected the line and speed noticeably at times. Still, I paid 25 bucks on a Sunday afternoon so I am not too fussed. (18 greens is trashed at the parts that border the water hazard fyi – no grass, just dirt.mud.)